Digital to time converters (DTCs) are typically used in radio frequency (RF) transceivers and similar systems. The DTC is used, for example, to generate a time delay of a reference signal based on a digital input.
There are three characteristics of DTCs that are of significance: quantization resolution, frequency range, and power consumption. The quantization resolution determines the smallest difference of two delays the DTC is capable of generating. Frequency range is the difference between frequencies of which the DTC is capable of producing. Power consumption is the amount of power consumed by the DTC during operation.
These characteristics tend to be at odds with each other. For example, obtaining a finer quantization resolution typically increases the power consumption.
What is needed is a technique to obtain relatively fine quantization resolution for suitable frequency ranges and power consumption.